Category: Trusting God

What to Do When Your Sin Brings Overwhelming Guilt

This man was in big trouble! Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! (Psalm 130:1-2) How did he get into such a predicament? Listen closely:...

Shelved or Serving in the Latter Years?

Can you do much for God and his kingdom when you get old? God thinks so. He has used many older people to accomplish valuable kingdom work, recorded colorfully in both the Bible and Christian history. Take Moses. He was 40 when he killed an Egyptian...

My Gains Eaten Away

In Earnest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, the superstitious old man on his dilapidated skiff had  no luck catching any big fish for a long time, but this day as he allowed the wind to carry him out much further than before, and after nearly...

Faint, but Pursuing

The name “Gideon” means “hewer” or “one who cuts down”. It carries with it connotations of strength, one who fells great trees, strikes down enemies, and topples mighty opponents. When the angel of the Lord once greeted a man named Gideon, he did so appropriately for...

Surrender Where You’re Planted

Early in the summer as I was leaving my Dad’s farm I noticed a grouping of small plants near the edge of the cornfield close by the house.  In an area about the size of a tennis court, the plants were all about half the size...

Commanding the Ravens: God’s Unexpected Provision

If we’re honest, our view of God’s provision for us is pretty narrow. Following typical western assumptions, we think that if we work hard at a good job, or any job, we will see a good return and be provided for. That’s how God does it—through...

Is There Any Sin in Trusting God?

A well-loved Christian conference speaker once posed this question to me after his message: “Is there any sin in trusting God?” Strange question, isn’t it? The answer has to be, “No.” I know that. You know that. The man who posed the question knew it also....

What Cockroaches Taught Me About Trust

We found them everywhere. Cockroaches, that is. Cowering in kitchen cabinets, scurrying down the hall, climbing up bedroom walls, and searching through our freshly packed boxes. Gross—I don’t even like looking at a picture of one! My wife and I had just gathered up our belongings...

Anxiety: Its Cause and Its Cure

Anxiety is the natural human response to trouble. For some people anxious thoughts are short-lived and mild, even during severe difficulty. But for others, anxiety leads to sleeplessness, depression, and even physical illness. Jesus was frank in calling anxiety sin. While telling His followers not to...

Trusting God in Tragedy: Elizabeth Prentiss

It was an awful thing for anyone to watch, but especially difficult for a sensitive eight year old girl. Elizabeth’s father was in great pain as he suffered with tuberculosis. First it was the constant, wrenching cough. Then his stamina failed and he had to give...